New York City Approves $4M Payment To Family Of Eric Garner

New York City has agreed to pay the family of Eric Garner $4 million, following a $5.9 million wrongful death settlement that was approved in July 2015.

The news comes almost a month after the three year anniversary of Garner’s death. The city opted to settle a pre-trial claim filed by the Garner estate in October 2014 for damages related to his choking death by officer Daniel Pantaleo in Staten Island. A grand jury chose not to indict Pantaleo.

According to lawyers involved in the case, Garner’s 3-year-old child Legacy Jayleen Garner-Miller, as well as his widow, Esaw Snipes, will reportedly receive the largest shares of the settlement with $1.3 million and $1.4 million respectively. His other daughters Erica and Emerald Snipes will each reportedly receive $163,600. Their older brother, Eric, and younger minor brother Emery, will receive $204,00 and $482,000 each

Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, is set to receive $82,000.

“I’m very happy that Legacy is going to be getting an increase in funds from what was originally proposed,” said attorney Lorraine Coyle, who represents the three-year-old daughter. Apparently, the initial offer was less than $1 million.

At this point, the Staten Island judge is still weighing how much to award in attorneys fees, according to Coyle.